It was only when Daniel Hey’s stock trading app idea was coming to life, that his childhood friend could see the potential and insisted on getting involved as a co-founder.

Rhode Island native Mr. Hey had tinkered with plenty of ideas before but Tradvice, which allows investors to seek out, and rate, stock tips provided by advisers, was the first one that was actively encouraged by his friends, peers, and mentors.

He turned to Freelancer.com to develop the app after development companies quoted him $20,000, which was “way out of my price range.”

“It’s the first official thing I’ve actually started, actually acted on,” said Mr. Hey. “I’ve had plenty of ideas and researched all of them. Usually, there’s something out there that’s similar or I’d get an opinion to say it’s not possible.”

“This one was both feasible and everyone I talked to said it was a good idea.”

Mr. Hey is studying a Bachelor of Finance at Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York, but he said that the process of working with a developer to bring his app-idea to life taught him more than he could learn in any book.

“I had a few books about starting your own business, creating your own app, and honestly I learned more from doing it than I have from all those books,” Mr. Hey said. “It has an intrinsic value you can’t put a number on.”

Frequent and open communication, as well as legal considerations, were a few key lessons.

The app cost a fraction to make and was in development for close to three months. The several freelancers who worked on it were members of ToXSL Technologies Ltd., a Mohali, India-based software development company with over 150 employees.

“Mr. Hey was in need of an iOS app that catered to both investors and advisers/stock brokers. We engineered both the front-end and back-end of the app. Aside from the app’s functionality, we were also able to implement the design Mr. Hey had in mind,” said a representative of the company.

Once a working version of the app had been developed, Mr. Hey showed his friend, Sterling Benkhart, who is currently studying Entrepreneurship and Finance at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts.

“He's a good childhood friend of mine. He asked me if he could join the company once he saw the progress I was making with the app and he began to see its potential and believe in the idea too.”

The app is currently in testing before a targeted launch date in a month’s time.

“I’m going to use it myself, honestly, just to improve my stock trades. Other millennials, anyone of any age, can have confidence investing by getting a second opinion. The profits will come, as people believe in the company and the app. The key is getting people first to believe in the app, and see it’s worth.”